Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0023890 (cirrhosis)
 42,195 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The immunohistochemical detection of the c-erbB-2 oncopeptide (p185erbB2) has been shown to be a valid marker for over-expression of this oncogene. To evaluate the possible relevance of gene expression to the proliferation of hepatocytes and bile ducts in human disease, the authors applied a monoclonal anti-p185 antibody to formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues from 67 examples of benign proliferative and neoplastic hepatic lesions and fetal liver. Focal membrane-based reactivity for the oncopeptide was detected on tumor cells in two of eight hepatocellular carcinomas and on tumor cells and adjacent bile ducts and hepatocytes in four of six cholangiocarcinomas. Each of the latter four lesions were in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis. No reactivity was obtained in examples of hepatoblastoma, mixed cholangiocarcinoma-hepatocellular carcinoma, bile duct adenoma, or hepatocellular adenoma. Weak staining for p185erbB2 also was seen in two of seven cases of (sub)massive hepatic necrosis and two examples of postnecrotic cirrhosis, all of which were secondary to either hepatitis B or C virus infection. No other benign proliferative lesions were labeled by the anti-p185 antibody, including cases of chronic allograft rejection, necrosis secondary to hepatic artery thrombosis, metabolic-associated and nonmetabolic-associated cirrhosis, focal nodular hyperplasia, and nodular regenerative hyperplasia. The authors' results indicate that c-erbB-2 may be amplified in specific neoplastic and hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infectious lesions of liver. The authors postulate that: (1) c-erbB-2 immunoreactivity may be a marker for malignant transformation in primary sclerosing cholangitis; and 2) overproduction of p185erbB2 may be an epiphenomenon of hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus infection.
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PMID:Immunoreactivity for c-erbB-2 oncopeptide in benign and malignant diseases of the liver. 137 19

Changes of the number and properties of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor occur during liver regeneration and may be of importance in the maintenance of hepatocellular mass in liver cirrhosis. We therefore studied the changes in the number and distribution of EGF receptor in the development of liver cirrhosis induced by bile duct ligation. Receptor binding assays demonstrated a marked decrease in the binding capacity of crude plasma membrane fractions from 45 +/- SD 16 to 19 +/- 10 fmol/mg protein (p < 0.001) in control and bile duct ligated livers, respectively while the Kd increased after 3 days of bile duct ligation from 0.5 +/- 0.2 to 1.4 +/- 0.6 nmol/l. Total receptor concentration in the same membrane fractions, as assessed by Western blot analysis, was not changed. The expression of EGF receptor mRNA was reduced to about one third of control levels after 28 days of bile obstruction. Immunohistochemistry, performed using monoclonal antibodies against EGF receptor, showed a strong labeling of cytoplasm (87 +/- 3% positive) and plasma membranes (84 +/- 24%) but no labeling of nuclei in control livers. In bile duct ligated rats, in contrast, cytoplasmic staining was decreased (15 +/- 12%) already after 3 days of bile obstruction; labeling of canalicular membranes and nuclei appeared after 14 days. The shift of EGF receptor from plasma membranes to nuclei supports the notion that EGF receptor is involved in the maintenance of hepatocellular mass in this model of liver cirrhosis. This concept is supported by the finding of decreased mRNA for EGF receptor presumably representing down-regulation as seen in regenerating rat liver.
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PMID:Epidermal growth factor receptor in chronic bile duct obstructed rats: implications for maintenance of hepatocellular mass. 146 40

The clinical significance of the measurement of c-erbB-2 oncogene product was evaluated. The subjects consisted of 404 patients, including 248 with cancer of the digestive organs and 128 with benign digestive diseases. Serum c-erbB-2 protein levels were measured by sandwich immunoenzyme assay. The positive rates of c-erbB-2 protein, at a cut-off value of 17.0 U/ml, were, for cancers: hepatocellular carcinoma 61.6%, biliary tract cancer 54.8%, pancreatic cancer 25.0%, esophageal cancer 33.3%, gastric cancer 16.9%, and colorectal cancer 5.0%. For benign digestive diseases, the rates were: liver cirrhosis 63.3%, chronic hepatitis 43.2%, acute hepatitis 42.9%, other liver diseases 42.8%, cholelithiasis 30.0%, and chronic pancreatitis 0%. Serum c-erbB-2 protein levels were significantly correlated with the markers of hepatic functional reserve, the indocyanine green retention rate and the hepaplastin test. These findings suggest that serum c-erbB-2 protein levels are greatly influenced by liver dysfunction and that their clinical usefulness as a serum tumor marker is questionable.
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PMID:Serum levels of c-erbB-2 protein in digestive diseases. 752 80

The expressions of c-erbB-2 oncogene and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) were investigated immunohistochemically in specimens from 184 cases of hepatitis B, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and 29 normal liver specimens. EGFR was expressed in 36% (48/134) of the hepatocellular carcinoma and chronic liver disorder specimens and it was immunolocalized mainly in the sinusoidal endothelial cells. No significant difference was found between EGFR expression in HCC and in benign chronic liver disorders. These results indicate that EGFR may have some role in the proliferation of the sinusoidal epithelial cells in chronic liver disease. Low level c-erbB-2 expression was observed in 5/29 (17%) of normal liver specimens. In chronic hepatitis B and liver cirrhosis, its expression was found in all specimens. c-erbB-2 protein was immunolocalized mainly in small polygonal liver cells (SPLCs) and hepatocytes in small-cell dysplasia (SCD) and in ductular metaplasia (DM); c-erbB-2 expression in HCC cells was found to be weaker than in SPLCs, the hepatocytes in SCD and in DM. These results indicate that activated c-erbB-2 oncogene may have a role in human HCC genesis through promoting the development of SCD from SPLC proliferation and the progression of SCD. The close relation between the expression of c-erbB-2 and HBxAg imply that the activation of c-erbB-2 in human liver tissues may be related to HBV X gene.
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PMID:[Expression of c-erbB-2 protein and EGF receptor in hepatitis B, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma]. 778 35

Sandwich radioimmunometric assay (ErbB-2 IRMA 'Eiken') was developed to determine the levels of c-erbB-2 oncogene product (ErbB-2 protein) in human sera, and a clinical investigation was carried out to evaluate this novel oncogene product. The mean serum concentration of the ErbB-2 protein determined from 364 donors was 4.0 +/- 0.69 ng/ml (mean +/- SD) for females and 4.5 +/- 0.96 ng/ml for males. Cut-off values were set at 5.4 ng/ml for females and 6.5 ng/ml for males. The positivities of serum ErbB-2 protein in patients with breast carcinoma were 13.0% for primary cases and 47.9% for recurrent cases. Patients with hepatic disorders also had positive serum ErbB-2 protein levels, ie, 43.8% (7/16) for hepatocellular carcinoma and 28.9% (11/38) for hepatitis and liver cirrhosis, although the increase was slight and barely exceeded 10 ng/ml. In comparison with the levels of other tumor markers, such as CEA, CA 15-3 and NCC-ST 439, the serum ErbB-2 level was shown to have poor correlations, and was thus assumed to be useful for combination with those tumor markers. In serial determinations of serum ErbB-2 protein in two patients with recurrent breast carcinoma, the antigen increased preceding the increases in the other tumor markers, thereby also showing usefulness as a monitoring marker for breast carcinoma. In conclusion, these results indicated that ErbB-2 measurement improves the assessment of breast cancer in combination with other tumor markers and is useful as a tool for monitoring the clinical condition and the response for treatment in breast cancer.
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PMID:[Clinical study of serum ErbB-2 protein using sandwich radioimmunometric assay (ErbB-2 IRMA 'Eiken')]. 791 12

The diagnostic value of a new tumor marker, c-erbB-2, was studied in the sera of 50 controls, 112 patients with benign diseases and 534 patients with malignancies. Using 15 U/ml as the cutoff, no healthy subjects, patients with benign diseases (excluding liver cirrhosis) or patients with no evidence of disease (45 patients) had serum levels higher than this limit. Abnormal c-erbB-2 levels were found in 38.5% (10 of 26) of the patients with liver cirrhosis and in 26.7% (8 of 30) of those patients with primary liver cancer. No differences were found between the c-erbB-2 serum concentrations in liver cirrhosis or primary liver cancer, suggesting the possible catabolism of this antigen in the liver. Abnormal levels of this antigen were found in 20% (56 of 278) of the patients with breast carcinoma (locoregional 7%, metastases 41.5%), in 21% (6 of 28) of ovarian carcinomas (stage I-II 0%, stage III-IV 42.8%), in 21% (3 of 14) of the colorectal tumors (locoregional 0%, metastases 30%), and in 13.3% (11 of 83) of the patients with lung cancer (locoregional 11.5%, metastases 16%). C-erbB-2 sensitivity in other patients with advanced disease was: 25% (9 of 36) in prostatic cancer, 22% (2 of 9) in gastric cancer, and 11% (1 of 9) in vesical tumors. When patients with liver metastases were excluded abnormal c-erbB-2 serum levels were only found in breast, lung, prostatic and ovarian carcinomas. C-erbB-2 sensitivity in patients with lung cancer was related to tumor histology with significantly higher value in non-small cell lung cancer (mainly adenocarcinomas) than in patients with small cell lung cancer (p < 0.013). C-erbB-2 concentrations in patients with breast cancer were significantly higher in patients with recurrence (mainly bone and liver metastases) and in patients with progesterone receptor-negative (< 15 fmol/mg) tumors (p < 0.01). In conclusion, c-erbB-2 is not a specific tumor marker and abnormal serum levels may be found in patients with liver pathologies. Its sensitivity suggests its possible application as a tumor marker in breast, ovarian, lung (mainly adenocarcinomas) and prostatic tumors.
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PMID:Serum levels of C-erbB-2 (HER-2/neu) in patients with malignant and non-malignant diseases. 914 15

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a lethal disease, afflicting many thousands the world over. Human CCA develops through a multi-step progression model, preceded by the onset of dysplasia in the cholangiolar ductal epithelium. An animal model of multi-step carcinogenesis in the biliary tree will enable the study of genetic changes in human CCA, and provide an avenue for chemoprevention strategies. We describe an oral thioacetamide (TAA)-induced model of rat CCA that recapitulates the histologic progression of human CCA. Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (n = 170), weighing 350 +/- 20 g, were used in this study. Drinking water with TAA 300 mg/l was administered orally, and the liver was harvested and examined histologically at weekly intervals, beginning at 5 weeks after initiation of TAA. Harvested tissues were formalin-fixed and paraffin embedded for morphologic and immunohistochemical studies. Multifocal bile ductular proliferation with intestinal metaplasia (presence of goblet cells) and increasing histologic atypia (biliary dysplasia) was observed by the 9th week of TAA administration. Biliary cytokeratin (CK19)-expressing invasive intestinal-type CCA with stromal desmoplasia was evident at the 16th week, and by the 22nd week, the yield rate for CCAs had increased to 100%. Invasive CCAs preceded the development of hepatic cirrhosis by at least 4 weeks; the earliest incidence of hepatic fibrosis was observed beginning at 20 weeks post-TAA administration. The progression from normal cholangioles to biliary dysplasia to invasive CCA was accompanied by up-regulation of the proto-oncogenes c-met and c-erbB-2, tyrosine kinase receptors over-expressed in human CCAs. The study was terminated at 6 months, at which time no systemic metastases or deaths were observed. Oral administration of TAA in drinking water to male SD rats provides a reproducible animal model for development of CCA with a high yield rate. In particular, the presence of biliary dysplasia beginning at the 9th week, which progresses to invasive CCA, mimics the multi-step model of human CCA. The TAA rat model may serve as a powerful pre-clinical platform for therapeutic and chemoprevention strategies for human CCA.
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PMID:Thioacetamide-induced intestinal-type cholangiocarcinoma in rat: an animal model recapitulating the multi-stage progression of human cholangiocarcinoma. 1465 42

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are proteolytic enzymes that are implicated in multiple stages of cancer progression including invasion and metastasis. MMPs exert these effects by cleaving a diverse group of substrates, which include not only structural components of the extracellular matrix, but also growth factor receptors. By gelatin zymography we verified MMP activity in the pleural effusions of patients with benign and malignant disease. Of these patients, 32 had malignant pleural effusion, consisting of 20 breast cancer, 6 non-small cell lung carcinoma, 4 ovarian carcinoma, and 2 colonic adenocarcinoma, and 10 had benign pleural effusion (5 pleurisy and 5 cirrhosis). Zymography showed the constant presence of a substantial amount of MMP-2 in all samples analyzed, whereas MMP-9 was present to lesser quantities. MMP-2 activity was enhanced in pleural effusions from patients with benign diseases compared with cancer patients. MMP-9 was present in 59% of cancer patients and the lytic activity was enhanced in pleurisy and absent in cirrhosis. Furthermore, we determined the pleural effusion levels of the soluble extracellular domain of HER-2/neu. The levels of HER-2/neu ECD were above the cut-off value in breast cancer patients. No correlation between gelatinolytic activities and high HER-2/neu ECD values was found.
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PMID:Gelatinolytic activities (matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9) and soluble extracellular domain of Her-2/neu in pleural effusions. 1761 66

The study was based on the biopsy material collected in Eastern coastal region of South Africa with high incidence of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Forty-one patients were between 9 and 25 years old of the total number of 474 cases of HCC available for examination. Liver biopsies were fixed in 10% of neutralised formalin, processed to paraffin blocks, cut and stained with hematoxylin and eosin, silver reticulin, Masson trichrome and Prussian blue stains. Representative biopsies of 21 patients younger than 25 years and 56 older than 35 years were in addition examined immunohistochemically with HBsAg antibody, endothelial marker (F VIII-related antigen) and for oncoproteins c-myc and c-erbB-2 using peroxidase-antiperoxidase method. Cirrhotic liver was evident in 41.5% of all patients and in 28% of younger than 25 years. Hemosiderosis of the liver of patients over 35 years was nearly twice as common as in younger than 25 years and showed the opposite relationship to the presence of HBsAg in liver tissue. Oncoprotein expression was also higher in tumor tissue of younger patients. These results indicate the etiological association of HCC with HBV infection, cirrhosis and possibly siderosis of the liver with HCC. Simultaneous expression of oncoproteins and HBsAg indicate the primary importance of viral infection in etiopathogenesis of HCC.
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PMID:Hepatocellular carcinoma in young patients. 2159 36

Amphiregulin (AREG) is a ligand of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor and may play a role in the development of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). AREG showed an enhanced expression in HCV-infected human hepatoma cells according to gene array analysis. Therefore, we addressed the question about the role of AREG in HCV infection. AREG expression level was elevated in hepatoma cells containing a subgenomic HCV replicon or infected by HCV. Using a reporter assay, AREG promoter activity was found to be upregulated upon HCV infection. The enhanced AREG expression in hepatoma cells was partly caused by dsRNAs, HCV NS3 protein and autocrine stimulation. AREG was able to activate cellular signalling pathways including ERK, Akt and p38, promote cell proliferation, and protect cells from HCV-induced cell death. Further, knockdown of AREG expression increased the efficiency of HCV entry, as proven by HCV pseudoparticles reporter assay. However, the formation and release of infectious HCV particles were reduced by AREG silencing with a concomitant accumulation of intracellular HCV RNA pool, indicating that the assembly and release of HCV progeny may require AREG expression. Blocking the MAPK-ERK pathway by U0126 in Huh7.5.1 cells had a similar effect on HCV replication. In conclusion, HCV infection leads to an increase in AREG expression in hepatocytes. AREG expression is essential for efficient HCV assembly and virion release. Due to the activation of the cellular survival pathways, AREG may counteract HCV-induced apoptosis of infected hepatocytes and facilitate the development of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
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PMID:Hepatitis C virus infection induces the expression of amphiregulin, a factor related to the activation of cellular survival pathways and required for efficient viral assembly. 2165 55


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